In Red Panda & Moon Bear, a lot of the magic exists in the spaces where cultures, languages, and histories meet. Language isn’t just a tool for communication, it’s the primary means through which we organize, understand, and construct meaning of the world around us. Living within and between languages means getting to navigate multiple worlds in the same space. For the kids in my books, this space is one of possibility and imagination, where things take place that couldn’t elsewhere.

What are some of the things you do to bring to life the world you’ve imagined?

I wanted the city of Martí, where Red Panda and Moon Bear live, to reflect the real places my family and I have lived. This means spending a lot of time researching the history and architecture of La Habana, Miami, and Tampa and using that research to inform the setting and history. The buildings I draw are modeled after real buildings. The characters’ back stories are modeled after real stories of people I’ve known. While Red Panda & Moon Bear is a silly, cartoonish story, its setting is based on the world we live in.

What stories inspired you as a young reader?

I first learned to love stories by watching cartoons and playing action figures with my brother. Animation really exploded in the 90s and I was lucky to be of the right age to experience and enjoy most of it. My favorite stories were always ones that took place in our world, but were slightly different. The fact that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for instance, seemed to take place in the very world in which I lived, encouraged me to think about what else could be possible in my world. Playing action figures was a way to start telling my own stories for the first time. It was a short leap to reading books and comic books. When I was in high school, I realized that I was a maker and that my enjoyment of media (books, television, comics) were always in service of making something. Once I understood that reading and writing were two sides of the same experience for me, my reading exploded and I read everything I could get my hands on. Even today, I read to support my writing. Maybe you are a maker like me, and love to find things in the world that inspire and motivate your own storytelling.

What advice would you give to young writers?

Write the stories you love in the way you love to write them! Telling stories is about making the world larger and contributing to our collective imagination about who we are and what’s possible. Your unique voice, vision, and understanding the world is the most important part. The craft and skill will come with time, practice, and patience. Find your voice, dig in, and make something cool!

What was your experience like getting your book translated into Spanish or English?

It was a lot of fun having my book translated into Spanish. I didn’t do the translation, but because my book is a graphic novel, I got to re-letter the entire book. I wanted the book to feel as though it had been written in Spanish rather than translated into it, so I redrew all the word balloons so the letters would fit properly and even redraw some panels and scenes so they would make more sense. The Spanish edition isn’t just a translated version, but a separate version altogether, unique and different from the English version.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a young reader graphic novel series, Hugo & Dino, about a boy who can transform himself into a dinosaur to go on adventures with his best friend who is also a dinosaur. The first book in that series comes out in 2024.